Lisa B. Nelson

Chief Executive Officer

Information

Biography

Lisa B. Nelson is the CEO of the American Legislative Exchange Council, the largest nonpartisan, voluntary membership organization of state legislators in the United States dedicated to the principles of limited government, free markets and federalism. ALEC counts nearly one-quarter of all state legislators and hundreds of business leaders and entrepreneurs as members of the 42 year-old organization. Together, ALEC members discuss policy and develop real plans of action to protect hardworking taxpayers and create effective, efficient and accountable state governments.

With expertise in strategic planning and crisis management spanning her entire career, Lisa successfully led several coalition-based efforts in the financial services, technology, content and communications industries at both the state and federal levels. With three decades of legislative strategy experience, she is considered a leader in understanding the need for grassroots and third party support to underpin an effective advocacy agenda.

From 2005 to 2013, Lisa led Government Relations for Visa, the world’s largest payment technology company. With oversight over the United States, Canada, Latin America and Asia, Lisa’s connections are unparalleled. With issues ranging from technology based data security to banking and payment issues, Lisa directed the strategy behind a successful global government relations agenda with all branches of government as well as oversight of community and state relations across the United States.

Prior to joining Visa, Lisa was Senior Vice President of External Relations at AOL Time Warner, where she oversaw relationships with all external organizations within the political and policy sphere including party committees, advocacy groups, think tanks and coalitions. She managed a team of both federal and state policy lobbyists for AOL and Time Warner from 1998 to 2005.

Additionally, Lisa served as Public Affairs Liaison for the U.S. Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, from 1995 to 1998. Prior to joining the Speaker’s office, she was Executive Director of GOPAC, the Education and Training Center of the 21st Century. In 1994, Lisa led the campaign effort for the first Republican Congressional Majority in more than 40 years.

Lisa serves on several boards including Meridian International and the Business-Government Relations Council, an organization for government relations leaders in fortune 500 companies. Lisa also represented the United States Government in Hungary while observing the political/election process with the International Republican Institute. And, while at National Review magazine, she founded the National Review Institute and organized international delegations of business leaders to Asia and Eastern Europe to meet political, economic and cultural leaders.

Lisa is a political science and international relations graduate of the University of California at Berkeley. She and her husband David live in McLean, Virginia and have two adult children, Sam Creed and Britton Elizabeth.